the film with local actors, but was unsuccessful; the majority of the casting process was completed in Los Angeles. Ted Vernon was the sole performer who was a local in Florida, and he was given his role in return for having financed $150,000 of the budget. Wesley stated in a 2015 interview that Vernon was unhappy with his lack of lines, which Wesley had mandated as Vernon was an inexperienced actor, and that this caused friction between them. Filming Filming took place over a period of 24 days in Davie, Florida in 1984. Though the bulk of principal photography took place in Florida, the exterior scenes featuring the airplane landing and taking off were shot in Mexico six weeks after filming ended. The farmhouse where the majority of the action takes place was a real derelict farmhouse on the edge of a swamp; Winikoff stated that the house proved challenging for the production team, as it was falling apart. The house was rented for three months at a rate of $250 a month, and the first month and a half was dedicated to pre-production. Throughout the shoot, the cast and crew were plagued by mosquitos. During filming, the production ran out of funds, and further financing had to be arranged to finish the film. Cinematography was by Peter Deming, who would go on to work on Hellraiser and Evil Dead 2. A total $5,000 was allotted for the special effects in the film. Post-production Wesley and producer Winikoff were scheduled to fly from Miami to Los Angeles to edit the film, and had tickets for Delta Air Lines Flight 191, on August 2, 1985; however, they inadvertently drove to the wrong airport, thus missing the flight, which entered a microburst in Dallas and crashed, killing 136 passengers. Release After the film was completed, it was sold to Manson International Pictures. However, seven months after the transactions, the company went bankrupt, stalling a chance at theatrical release. According to producer Cami Winikoff, the film was successful in the home video market, and grossed around $3 million. Critical response Time Out gave the film a mostly positive stating in its review for the film, "Although a little slow to get started, this better-than-average horror movie makes excellent use of its creepily-lit monsters, is reasonably well put together, and features some stomach-turning grisliness". Mick Martin and Derrick Bang of the Video Movie Guide